Growing-hair doll

ABSTRACT

A miniature doll haVing a lock of hair which can be readily adjusted to vary the exposed length thereof to vary the appearance of the doll. The head of the doll is hollow and is provided at its top with a keyhole-shaped opening having a narrow slotted portion contiguous with a larger circularly shaped portion. The body of the doll has a hollow portion and at least one leg of the doll is hollow. The hollow portions of the leg, body and head are aligned and enclose a resilient member which is affixed at one end to the bottom of the leg. The adjustable lock of hair is attached to the other end of the resilient member adjacent to an annular key or wedge which is supported on the resilient member. A child may readily pull the lock of hair and position the key in the slotted portion of the keyhole-shaped opening to provide for a greater length of exposed lock of hair. In this position of the key, the resilient member is stretched and urges the key against the top of the head adjacent the slotted portion. To shorten the exposed length of the lock of hair, the lock is lifted away from the head and moved over the circular portion of the opening. When the lock is thereafter released, the key is drawn into the circular portion of the keyhole opening by the resilient member so that part of the lock of hair also is drawn into the hollow head of the doll to provide for a lesser exposure of the lock of hair.

United States Patent [151 3,696,55 i Sklarsky et al. [45] Oct. 10, 1.972

[54] GROWING-HAIR DOLL 57] ABSTRACT [72] Inventors: Bernard B. Sklarsky; Robert K. Os- A miniature doll having a lock of hair which can be trander, both of Woodmere, NY.

Lilienstem ..46/172 Primary ExaminerAntonio F. Guida Assistant Examiner-D. L. Weinhold Attorney-Kirschstein, Kirschstein, Ottinger & Frank readily adjusted to vary the exposed length thereof to vary the appearance of the doll. The head of the doll is hollow and is provided at its top with a keyholeshaped opening having a narrow slotted portion contiguous with a larger circularly shaped portion. The body of the doll has a hollow portion and at least one leg of the doll is hollow. The hollow portions of the leg, body and head are aligned and enclose a resilient member which is affixed at one end to the bottom of the leg. The adjustable lock of hair is attached to the other end of the resilient member adjacent to an annular key or wedge which is supported on the resilient member. A child may readily pull the lock of hair and position the key in the slotted portion of the keyhole shaped opening to provide for a greater length of exposed lock of hair. In this position of the key, the resilient member is stretched and urges the key against the top of the head adjacent the slotted portion. To shorten the exposed length of the lock of hair, the lock is lifted away from the head and moved over the circular portion of the opening. Whenthe lock is thereafter released, the key is drawn into the circular portion of the keyhole opening by the resilient member so that part of the lock of hair also is drawn into the hollow head of the doll to provide for a lesser exposure of the lock of hair.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures P'A'TENIEDMI 1 9 3.696551 INVENTORS BERNARD B. SKLARSKY ROBERT K. OSTRANDER GROWING-HAIR DOLL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A miniature doll having an adjustable lock of hair which can be locked in one position providing for a maximum exposure of the lock of hair and which can be unlocked and released to a second position providing for a lesser exposure of the lock of hair.

2. Description of the Prior Art The number of dolls manufactured and sold in this country is substantial. A large percentage of these dolls include features simulating functions performed by humans. For example, there have been dolls which have motor abilities and simulate walking, or dolls which include sound mechanisms and can talk. Another desirable feature for dolls is for them to have adjustable or variable lengths of hair. A toy doll having a variable length lock of hair has heretofore been disclosed. In the Reebe et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,976, a doll is disclosed in which the length of a lock of hair can be manually adjusted by rotating a knob, which drives spring biased ratchet mechanism. Prior art mechanisms of this type are, however, relatively expensive and bulky, readily breakable, and therefore unsuitable for inexpensive miniature dolls. Moreover, a considerable amount of manual dexterity is required for operating these mechanisms, and a small child may not have such dexterity.

What is required is very simple means for adjusting the length of a lock of hair without complicated mechanisms and controls which even a very young child can easily manipulate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I Purposes of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide a doll having an adjustable lock of hair with relatively inexpensive means for adjusting the exposed portion of the lock of hair.

It is another object of the invention to provide a doll having a lock of hair, the length of which can be changed by manually positioning one end of the lock of hair.

It is another object of the invention to provide a doll having an adjustable lock of hair connected to one end of a resilient cord which together with the lock are substantially the only parts moved to adjust the length of the lock of hair.

It is another object of the invention to provide in a hollow doll, a keyhole opening in its head through which a resilient cord is attached to one end of an adjustable lock of hair, and in which the one end of the lock of hair may be wedged.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hollow miniature doll with means at the top of the head of the doll for determining the exposed length of a lock of hair of the doll.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the drawing. The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and parts, which will be exemplified in the embodiment hereinafter described, and of which the scope of the application will be indicated in the appended claims.

2. Description of the Invention The doll of the present invention has a hollow body which supports a hollow head. The doll also has two arms and two legs attached to the body, and at least one of the legs is also hollow. A resilient cord passes through the aligned hollow spaces of the leg, body and head and is affixed at the distal end of the leg by an annular rivet. The cord is knotted exterior to the rivet and when pulled upwardly forces the knot into the rivet fixing the end of the resilient cord at the distal end of the leg. The other end of the resilient cord is attached to an adjustable lock of hair of the doll and passes through a keyhole opening in the top of the head. The keyhole opening has a slotted portion contiguous with a circular portion. Supported at the upper end of the resilient cord adjacent to the end of the adjustable lock of hair is an annular key or wedge. By moving the lock of hair, the wedge may be positioned in the slotted portion of the keyhole opening. With the wedge locked or wedged in the slotted portion, the length of the lock of hair is at its maximum and the resilient cord is subjected to a relatively larger tension. If the lock of hair is pulled or lifted and then moved over the circular portion of the keyhole opening and then released, the resilient cord pulls the key or wedge and a portion of the lock of hair into the hollow head thereby effecting a shortening of the exposed length of the lock of hair.

Accordingly, in accordance with the invention, the lock of hair may be manually positioned to have one of two lengths. A first maximum length when the wedge is positioned in the slotted portion of the keyhole opening, and a second and shorter length when the wedge is released so that a portion of the lock of hair is pulled into the hollow interior of the head of the doll.

Features of this invention relate to the provision of the hollow doll for enclosing the resilient cord and for providing at opposite ends of the doll for means for locking the respective ends of the resilient cord. At the distal end of one leg the cord is locked in place by means of the annular rivet and at its other end at the top of the head of the doll it may also be locked in place by means of the key engaging the slotted portion of the keyhole opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawing in which there is shown one possible embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the miniature doll of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and depicting the hollow portions of the miniature doll of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectionalized view taken through the joint of the hollow leg of the miniature doll of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective top view illustrating the keyhole opening and wedge or key of this invention; and Y FIG. 5 is a top view of the head of the doll depicting the keyhole opening and key of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing there is depicted a doll 10 having a hollow head 12 provided over most of its top with hair 16 and an adjustable lock of hair 14. The lock of hair 14 is connected to the end of a resilient cord 18 shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3. The cord 18 passes through the hollow head 12 and, through a hollow body 20 which supports the head 12 in any desired manner. The doll also has two legs 15 and 17 and two arms 19 and 21 which are movably or rotatably attached to the body 20. The body has an opening 22 at its upper end to provide a continuous open area between the hollow space 23 of the head 12 and the hollow space 28 of the body 20.

In addition to the hollow spaces 23 and 28, the leg 17 is also hollow. The other three limbs, the leg 15 and the arms 19 and 21 may be solid or hollow. The leg 17 has a hollow space 32 which connects through the opening 26 at the top of the leg 17 with the hollow space 28 of the body 20. The contiguous spaces 23, 28 and 32 are utilized as a passageway or enclosed area for the resilient cord 18. The cord 18 passes through the area 23 of the head, through the area 28 of the hollow body 20, and the area 52 of the hollow leg 17 to the distal end 31 of the leg 17. At the distal end 31 of the leg 17, the resilient cord 18 is locked in position by means of an annular rivet 33 which is forced into an opening 35 at the bottom or distal end of the leg 17. The hollow portion 32 of the leg 17 may be aligned along a straight line with the hollow portion 28 of the body 20, and with the hollow space or interior 23 of the head 12. In this manner the cord 18 passes along the substantially linear path through the aligned hollow portions or areas 23, 28 and 32 from the lock of hair 14 at the top of the head 12 to the distal end 31 of the hollow leg 17.

FIG. 3 in particular, depicts the interconnection of the molded leg 17 with the body 20. An opening 24 in the body 20 engages the leg 17 and rotativel supports the leg against the body 20. Features of the invention relate to the utilization of only one hollow limb as the other three limbs, the arms 19 and 21 and the other leg 15 may be solid.

The adjustable lock of hair 14 is connected to the upper end of the resilient cord 18 by means of a loop 44 at the end of the resilient cord 18. The loop 44 may be an integral part of the resilient cord 18 and may be formed by passing the upper end of cord 18 through the end of the lock 14 and then knotting it. Supported adjacent the loop 44 and the end of the lock of hair 14 is an annular key or wedge 46. The key 46 may be pulled through a keyhole opening 48 in the top of the head 12 of the doll 10. The keyhole opening 48 has a slotted or V-shaped portion 49 and a circular portion 50 contiguous with the slotted portion 49 as shown particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5.

When the lock of hair 14 is manually grasped and pulled upwardly, the resilient cord 18 is stretched, permitting the end of the lock of hair 14 and the key 46 to be pulled from and above the top of head 12. Thereafter, if the key 46 is moved above the slotted portion 49 of the opening 48 and released, the key 46 becomes wedged in the slotted portion 49 due to the tension and pull of the resilient cord 18 which forces the key 46 into the slotted portion 49. The dimensions of the key 46 are greater than the width of the slotted portion 49 so that it cannot pass through the slotted portion 49 to the interior 23 of the head 12. More particularly, the key 46 has a flared upper end 51 having the greater dimension. The lower end of the key 46 fits into the slotted portion 49 of the keyhole opening 48.

With the key 46 wedged in the slotted portion 49 of the keyhole opening 48, the exposed length of the lock of hair 14 is at its maximum. To shorten the exposed length of the lock of hair 14, the lock of hair 14 is manually lifted to disengage the key 46 from the slotted portion 49 and then is moved directly above the circular portion 50. The diameter of the circular portion 50 is large enough to readily permit the passage through it of the key 46 and part of the lock of hair 14. When the child releases the lock of hair 14 over the circular portion 50 of the keyhole opening 48, the resilient cord 18 contracts and pulls the key 46 through the keyhole opening 48 together with a portion of the lock of hair 14. With the key 46 within the hollow portion 23 of the head 12 together with a portion of the lock of hair therewith, the exposed length of the lock of hair is at its shortest position.

In this manner, it is evident that the length of the lock of hair 14 may be adjusted to a shorter position wherein a portion of the lock of hair 14 is within the hollow portion 23 of the head 12, and to a longer length when the key 46 is manually placed in the slotted portion 49 of the keyhole opening 48. The only moving parts of the doll 10 to adjust the length of the lock of hair 14 are, accordingly, the resilient cord 18, the key 46 which is supported on the cord 18 adjacent its end, and the lock of hair 14. No other parts must be moved or adjusted with reference to the function of adjusting the length of the lock of hair 14. The arms 19 and 21 and the legs 15 and 17 may be moveable relative to the body 20, but embodiments of this invention may include a doll having fixed arms and legs.

It thus will be seen that there is provided a doll which achieves the various objects of the invention and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use. As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described the invention there is claimed as new and desired to be secured by letters patent:

1. A doll having an extensible and retractable lock of hair comprising:

a. a hollow body having at least one hollow leg connected thereto,

b. a hollow head mounted on said hollow body, the hollow portions of said head, body and one leg forming an uninterrupted linear passageway between the top of said head and the bottom of said one leg,

c. a lock of hair arranged in protruding relation through an opening in said hollow head, said lock of hair having a longer length position and a shorter length position,

. said opening in said hollow head having a circular portion and a slotted portion contiguous thereto, e. a resilient cord enclosed by said hollow body, head and one leg and connect at its one end to the bottom of said lock of hair and at its distal end to the bottom of said one leg, and

f. a latching means connected to said resilient cord at the bottom of said lock of hair, said latching means being movable through said circular portion of said opening and being engageable with the upper edges of said slotted portion to maintain said lock of hair and said holding means entirely outside said opening in its longer position.

2. A doll in accordance with claim 1 wherein the opening in said hollow head has a keyhole shape having a slotted portion on which said latching means is engaged to lock said lock of hair in said longer length position, and a circular portion contiguous with said slotted portion through which said latching means is released to change the length of said lock of hair and move said lock of hair to said shorter length position.

3. A doll in accordance with claim 1 wherein said latching means is an annular shaped wedge having a flared portion for engaging the sides of said slotted portion of the keyhole shaped opening in said head.

4. A doll according to claim 8 wherein said hollow head is provided with a keyhole opening at the top thereof and an opening at the bottom thereof, said hollow body having a first opening contiguous with the opening at the bottom of said hollow head and a second opening at the bottom of said hollow body, said hollow leg having a first opening at its upper end contiguous with said second opening in said hollow body, said resilient cord being connected to the lower end of said lock of hair passing through said leg, said body and said head uninterrupted.

5. A doll in accordance with claim 4 wherein said keyhole opening has a slotted portion, and a circular portion contiguous with said slotted portion, said locking means being positioned in said slotted portion to lock said lock of hair at said keyhole opening and being positioned and released at said circular portion to shorten the exposed length of said lock of hair by permitting said resilient cord to pull part of said lock of hair into said hollow head.

6. A doll in accordance with claim 5 wherein said locking means is an annular shaped wedge supported on said resilient cord adjacent said adjustable lock of hair, said wedge having a flared portion for engaging said slotted portion of said keyhole opening. 

1. A doll having an extensible and retractable lock of hair comprising: a. a hollow body having at least one hollow leg connected thereto, b. a hollow head mounted on said hollow body, the hollow portions of said head, body and one leg forming an uninterrupted linear passageway between the top of said head and the bottom of said one leg, c. a lock of hair arranged in protruding relation through an opening in said hollow head, said lock of hair having a longer length position and a shorter length position, d. said opening in said hollow head having a circular portion and a slotted portion contiguous thereto, e. a resilient cord enclosed by said hollow body, head and one leg and connect at its one end to the bottom of said lock of hair and at its distal end to the bottom of said one leg, and f. a latching means connected to said resilient cord at the bottom of said lock of hair, said latching means being movable through said circular portion of said opening and being engageable with the upper edges of said slotted portion to maintain said lock of hair and said holding means entirely outside said opening in its longer position.
 2. A doll in accordance with claim 1 wherein the opening in said hollow head has a keyhole shape having a slotted portion on which said latching means is engaged to lock said lock of hair in said longer length position, and a circular portion contiguous with said slotted portion through which said latching means is released to change the length of said lock of hair and move said lock of hair to said shorter length position.
 3. A doll in accordance with claim 1 wherein said latching means is an annular shaped wedge having a flared portion for engaging the sides of said slotted portion of the keyhole shaped opening in said head.
 4. A doll according to claim 8 wherein said hollow head is provided with a keyhole opening at the top thereof and an opening aT the bottom thereof, said hollow body having a first opening contiguous with the opening at the bottom of said hollow head and a second opening at the bottom of said hollow body, said hollow leg having a first opening at its upper end contiguous with said second opening in said hollow body, said resilient cord being connected to the lower end of said lock of hair passing through said leg, said body and said head uninterrupted.
 5. A doll in accordance with claim 4 wherein said keyhole opening has a slotted portion, and a circular portion contiguous with said slotted portion, said locking means being positioned in said slotted portion to lock said lock of hair at said keyhole opening and being positioned and released at said circular portion to shorten the exposed length of said lock of hair by permitting said resilient cord to pull part of said lock of hair into said hollow head.
 6. A doll in accordance with claim 5 wherein said locking means is an annular shaped wedge supported on said resilient cord adjacent said adjustable lock of hair, said wedge having a flared portion for engaging said slotted portion of said keyhole opening. 